


Heir of Darkness

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 14:32:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12889908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: The heir of darkness is born, but it's not that dramatic. Shadow belongs to shadowlord13





	Heir of Darkness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shadowlord13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowlord13/gifts).



Ever since she’d started sleeping with Darko, Shadow had expected this to happen. They never used protection, though they had discussed it sometimes, and they had a very active sex life. But at the same time, they hadn’t actually been planning on it. At least, Shadow was pretty sure that Darko hadn’t been planning on it. He might have.

Shadow returned to the oil rig from the mainland, where she’d been at the doctor’s getting it confirmed (doctors did exist in Jorvik, they were just rare), and headed up to Darko’s quarters with the news.

“There you are, my Shadow,” said Darko, taking her into his arms and kissing her when she stepped inside. Shadow returned the kiss, her heart and belly fluttering with nerves. What she was about to tell him was pretty big.

“I always come back,” said Shadow, giving him a smile. She led him over to the couch, where she sat down with him. “Sit down.”

“Oh? What’s going on? You look nervous,” said Darko, cupping her chin and stroking his fingers through her hair. Shadow smiled at him, trying to fight away the nerves.

“I went to the doctor’s today,” said Shadow, skirting around the big news. It was slightly hard to say, harder even than first telling him that she loved him.

“Are you ill?” asked Darko, putting his hand on her forehead. Shadow laughed nervously at how caring he was being.

“No,” said Shadow, unable to fight the smile even as nerves clawed at her belly. “I’m pregnant.” Darko’s face changed instantly, but not into the shock that Shadow had expected. There was shock, yes, but then… A smile spread across his face, lighting his eyes and his whole face up.

“Pregnant,” he repeated, his voice full of wonder, and he reached down and put his hands reverently over her stomach. Shadow grinned, surprised and delighted at how happy he was about this. Darko was still grinning when he looked at her, and there were actual tears in his eyes.

“Yep,” said Shadow, grinning. “You’re going to be a dad.” Darko gasped, then knelt on the floor and pressed his ear to Shadow’s stomach. Shadow giggled, thoroughly delighted by this.

From that first announcement, Darko only got more adoring of Shadow and the tiny life growing inside her. Darko was always staring at her belly, and touching it at every opportunity. One night, Shadow was awoken by Darko’s voice murmuring softly to something. She opened her eyes and saw his head down by her belly.

“You are going to grow up to be the most powerful being on Jorvik,” Darko murmured, stroking the small swell of belly. Shadow smiled fondly as she watched him.

As Shadow drifted back to sleep that night, she heard Darko singing a lullaby. She didn’t recognise the language, but it was soft and soothing.

As the months passed, Shadow’s belly only grew bigger, her cravings more wild, her morning sickness worse. But Darko loved the kid, even before it was born, singing it lullabies and kissing Shadow’s stomach at every opportunity.

Of course, Darko also took it upon himself to construct a nursery on the oil rig leading off from the quarters that he shared with Shadow. He decorated it while Kito strode around sniffing things and getting black fur on everything.

“Ah, little Kito, you won’t be an only child for much longer,” said Darko, scratching the cat under the chin while Kito purred. Shadow laughed, one hand resting comfortably on her belly. When she felt something, her sharp intake of breath had Darko’s head snapping up. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“No,” said Shadow, grinning. “Come and feel.” Darko was a little surprised but walked over to her, laying a hand on her stomach over her hand. And, when she felt it, he felt it too, and he looked like a kid on Christmas.

“Our child is saying hello,” said Darko softly, with so much awe in his voice that Shadow felt her cheeks starting to hurt from how much she was grinning.

“You’ll be able to meet them in person soon,” said Shadow. “And then I can stop feeling so heavy.”

“I assure you that you only look more beautiful,” said Darko, and Shadow blushed.

“Do you think I’ll be a good mother?” Shadow asked as they lay together a few weeks later. Darko kissed her cheek.

“Of course,” said Darko. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother, Shadow. I have access to the best research available, and you are not the first on the oil rig to have a child.”

“I know,” said Shadow. “But our lives will be different now. We won’t be able to train as much, and your plans…”

“Others can carry out my plans,” said Darko. “My only goal now is to ensure that you and our baby are as healthy and happy as possible. When our child is born, they will inherit the world.”

“Don’t put too much weight on their young shoulders,” said Shadow, rubbing a hand over her belly. She rolled onto her back, finding it more comfortable that way, and Darko took the opportunity to move further down her body to embrace her belly. Shadow smiled, rolling her eyes slightly at how her boyfriend was acting.

Shadow was still nervous when her due date neared, but Darko was only getting more excited. The nursery had been completed, and he seemed to return to his quarters every day with something new for their child. A lot of it was magical artefacts, though Shadow was pretty sure that they were safe for a child to use. Darko loved his child too much to injure it in any way. But there were some normal baby things in there too, teddies and blankets and enough diapers for a dozen babies. Kito slept in there a lot, curled up in the crib.

“You really are our baby, aren’t you?” said Shadow with a laugh the first time she saw him there. She hadn’t been able to find him until she’d looked there.

But Kito also slept on Shadow’s belly sometimes. She didn’t mind, usually dozing off herself on the couch or bed while her cat slept atop the mound that housed his future ‘sibling’. Sometimes he purred, and Shadow hoped that her baby could feel it as much as she could. Kito had only been kicked off her belly, quite literally, a few times. It was always amusing to see Kito awaken with a yowl after a tiny foot had collided with him. It made Shadow giggle every time, and Darko laughed too if he saw it.

Kito was asleep on Shadow’s belly on the day that her baby was born. He suddenly woke up, ears swivelling and whiskers twitching, and gently hopped off of Shadow’s belly before the first pain hit.

“Kito, what’s- ah!” Shadow gasped, putting a hand to her stomach. The couch was damp, and immediately, her heart started racing. Darko, hearing her cry out, ran into the room, looking shocked at first and then delighted once he realised what was happening.

“It’s happening, isn’t it?” said Darko, grinning. Shadow gave him a nervous smile, but it collapsed into a look of pain when the next contraction hit.

Exactly two minutes before midnight, Rosa Umbra Shadowlord was born. She was tinier than Shadow expected, having carried her for almost ten months, but she was perfect. Her little crop of hair was a delightful reddish-brown, but she had her father’s blue eyes.

“She’s beautiful,” Shadow murmured, looking down at the baby that lay on her breast. The birth had been extremely painful, but worth every second to see the young one she held in her arms.

“Just like her mother,” Darko agreed, and gave Shadow a kiss.

As mother and daughter drifted off into an exhausted sleep, Shadow heard Darko singing the same lullaby he’d sung to her belly almost every night. Now, he could look at his daughter as he sang to her. The thought made Shadow smile as she fell asleep.


End file.
